Doctoral student in Medical Science - PhD position in neuro biomarker research

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Reference number PAR 2026/730

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Doctoral position in Medical science

Project title: Validation of a realistic screening approach for early Alzheimer's disease

The Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry is located at the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg.

General information about being a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg can be found on the university's doctoral student pages. https://www.gu.se/en/doctoral-studies

Duties

The PhD education in Medical Science comprises carrying out a scientific project and completing at least 30 credits of courses at third-cycle level. The doctoral student must also write a scientific compilation thesis or monograph corresponding to at least 120 credits. For more information about third-cycle studies at Sahlgrenska Academy, see https://www.gu.se/en/sahlgrenska-akademin/doctoral-studies

Doctoral studies comprises four years of full-time study, and leads to a doctoral degree.

As part of your employment as a doctoral student, you may have departmental duties corresponding to up to 20 % of full-time employment, distributed throughout your study period, and result in a corresponding extension of the studies. Departmental duties usually consist of teaching at first- and second-cycle levels, but may also include research and administration.

Project description:Alzheimer's disease (AD) places an enormous burden on patients, families and society. Newly approved anti-amyloid antibodies are most effective when given early, ideally before symptoms appear. Yet most patients are diagnosed in primary care, which is not equipped for early detection. Remote digital cognitive tests and blood-based biomarkers (BBMs) offer scalable, cost-effective solutions but have not been validated in the general population within existing healthcare.

REAL AD is a prospective study run together with the entire public primary care of Västra Götaland Region (VGR; Närhälsan, 111 health centres), Sahlgrenska University Hospital's memory clinic and the region's innovation platform. It validates a screening method for early AD combining remote cognitive testing and BBMs. Dementia-free adults aged 50–80 complete app- or web-based tests (neotiv, Cognitron) at baseline, 18 and 36 months and give blood at their local health centre. A sub-cohort (N=425) is examined twice with CSF, MRI, optional tau-PET and clinical and neuropsychological assessments.

The PhD project will, in collaboration with other lab members and research groups, (I) explore the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of BBMs for AD pathology, including multi-protein panels, with digital and remotely administered cognitive assessments and register-based data on sociodemographic and lifestyle factors; (II) establish and validate meaningful threshold for cognitive tests and BBMs against reference methods such as CSF proteomics; (III) support the data-driven implementation of relevant biomarker modalities in clinical routine.

Recruitment closed in February 2025 with nearly 5,000 participants, 3,095 of whom gave blood. Higher plasma p-tau217 was associated with poorer cognitive performance, supporting the feasibility of combined screening. The 18-month follow-up shows over 90% retention, and the validation phase began in February 2026.

REAL AD provides implementation-ready knowledge on how precision medicine can enter routine care to improve the prognosis of AD. The study is supported by leading industry partners and has been highlighted as European best practice.

Eligibility

Doctoral education requires general eligibility and, where appropriate, specific eligibility as set out in the general syllabus for the subject.

The general eligibility requirements for doctoral studies are:

• having completed a degree at second-cycle level, or
• the fulfilment of course requirements totalling at least 240 credits, of which at least 60 credits must be at second-cycle level, or
• the acquisition of equivalent knowledge in some other way, either in Sweden or abroad.

Specific entry requirements for this subject, according to the general syllabus, are: having completed the English B/6 course or is considered to have acquired equivalent knowledge through previous studies

Assessment criteria

The selection of applicants who meet the basic and specific eligibility requirements will be based on the ability to assimilate the doctoral studies. The assessment shall attach particular importance to documented qualifications for:

- specific knowledge and skills within the subject area and related research fields- experience of scientific theory and relevant research methodology- scientific analysis and presentation verified through an academic paper, degree project, scientificjournals or the like.

Admission and employment

Once you have been admitted to doctoral studies, you will be employed as a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg.

The provisions for employment as a doctoral student can be found in ordinance SFS 1993:100.

Initial employment as a doctoral student may apply for a maximum of one year, and may be renewed by a maximum of two years at a time.

A doctoral student may be employed as a doctoral student for a maximum of eight years, but the total period of employment may not be longer than the equivalent of full-time education at doctoral level for four years.

Location: Sahlgrenska Academy, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry. Extent: 100%. First day of employment: as agreed.

The University applies a local agreement on salaries for doctoral students.

Please note, doctoral studies at the institute of Neuroscience and Physiology require physical presence to conduct the studies. If the admitted applicant needs a residence permit for higher education to pursue studies in Sweden, the institute has the right to revoke the admission decision if the applicant cannot present a valid residence permit no later than at the start of the studies.

Contact information

For more information about the project please contact the project supervisor,Michael Schöll , Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology,e-mail: michael.scholl@neuro.gu.se

Unions

Union representatives at the University of Gothenburg can be found here: https://www.gu.se/om-universitetet/jobba-hos-oss/hjalp-for-sokande

Application

You can apply to be admitted to doctoral education via the University of Gothenburg’s recruitment portal.

It is your responsibility to ensure that the application is complete as per this notice, and that the University receives it by the final application deadline.

You must include the following, in pdf format

• Personal letter
• Diploma and transcripts showing that you meet with the general entry requirement
• Proof of completion of English 6 course or the acquired equivalent knowledge through previous studies

If your degree is from a university outside of Sweden, make sure that you attach a diploma and full transcripts that makes assessing your degree easier.

For information on what you need to submit in order to fulfill the English language requirement see https://www.universityadmissions.se/en/entry-requirements/english-language-requirements/

Applications must be received by: 2026-10-16

Information for International Applicants

Choosing a career in a foreign country is a big step. Thus, to give you a general idea of what we and Gothenburg have to offer in terms of benefits and life in general for you and your family/spouse/partner please visit:

https://www.gu.se/en/about-the-university/welcome-services https://www.movetogothenburg.com/

The University works actively to achieve a working environment with equal conditions, and values the qualities that diversity brings to its operations. Salaries are set individually at the University. In accordance with the National Archives of Sweden’s regulations, the University must archive application documents for two years after the appointment is filled. If you request that your documents are returned, they will be returned to you once the two years have passed. Otherwise, they will be destroyed. In connection to this recruitment, we have already decided which recruitment channels we should use. We therefore decline further contact with vendors, recruitment and staffing companies.